South Korea Reaffirms It Has No Immediate Plan to Change Alerts

South Korea has no immediate plans to change monitoring and combating alert levels after finding no unusual movements among North Korean forces, said a spokesman at the joint chiefs of staff who declined to be named citing military policy.

The South Korean military earlier discussed whether to raise its “watchcon” monitoring level from three to two and its “defcon” combat alertness from four to three, said the official.

Jung Seung Jo, the chairman of South Korea’s joint chiefs of staff, and James Thurman, commander of U.S. forces in Korea agreed to “calmly respond” by strengthening military preparedness, and not creating “unnecessary tension,” the official said.